


To Darkness We Fall

by crashong



Category: Original Work, Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Clones, F/M, Flashbacks, Force Sensitivity, Force-Sensitive Original Character(s), Gen, Jedi, Jedi and Clone Relationship, Keldabe Kiss, Lightsaber Battles, Lightsabers, Mentioned Sheev Palpatine | Darth Sidious, Order 66, Original Character(s), Original Content - Freeform, Post-Order 66, Sith, Star Wars - Freeform, The Force, The Ninth Brother, The Third Sister, relationship, stormtroopers - Freeform, the empire
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:40:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 9,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24548524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crashong/pseuds/crashong
Summary: Elara Syro, a Jedi General in the Clone Wars, is left distraught and forced into hiding after the events of the infamous Order 66. With the betrayal of the clones, she is coerced into picking up the pieces of her old self, and figure out who she is without the Jedi Order and the Republic. Along her journey to escape the Empire, she will cross paths with the Sith Inquisitors and even the makings of the Rebellion.Note: the main characters in this story are not canon or part of the Star Wars Universe, they are original characters of my own making
Kudos: 2





	1. Impending Doom

**Author's Note:**

> Pronunciations-
> 
> Elara Syro- Ee-Lar-Ra Sigh-Row

"Admiral, let me know when we hear from Coruscant about our next move," Elara Syro stood on the bridge of her ship,  _ The Wayfinder _ , awaiting her orders from the Jedi Temple. They had just successfully driven Separatist forces from the nearby planet and were waiting patiently for orders from the Council. 

"Yes, General," Elara gazed out at the planet below, filled with dense forest and tropical oceans. The people there had been grateful for the Republic's help, for they had ridden their villages of the Separatists, but were hesitant to join the Republic. Elara couldn't blame them. Every day, the war became less and less popular, causing more and more systems to leave and become neutral or join the Separatists. Even some of the Jedi were beginning to question the Republic, although she knew none dared to speak out, herself included. She constantly wondered what the purpose of the war was. Her master had always told her that war had no winners. That both sides lost, just one less than the other, and they called themselves winners. Perhaps her master was right. After all, she had fought more wars than Elara ever had. Only time would tell.

\----------------------------------

Elara lounged at her desk, contemplating whether to do her paperwork or not, and she decided the latter. She heard a knock at her door.

"You don't have to knock, Quill," she could sense her Commander's force presence, waiting patiently outside her room. The door slid open revealing the clone commander: the perfect copy of Jango Fett, save for his sea-green eyes; a mutation that attracted many stares when they walked past him. 

"I have the latest report on the battle," He scrolled through the datapad in his hands, "Casualties, ammunition, ships..." he trailed off when he realized she wasn't paying attention, "General?"

"Hmm? Oh, the report, right," she extended her hand for the datapad, not making eye contact with him. 

"Elara. 'Lara, look at me," she glanced up at him, something amiss in her eyes, "What's wrong?" Quill knew the Jedi were capable of sensing things normal people couldn't, and it was something he knew Elara was particularly good at. 

"I don't know. Something just isn't right," she shook her head, "I've had the same feeling for days now and it won't go away. It just sits in the back of my head telling me to run, telling me to leave while I still can, but..."

"Look, I'm no Jedi, but I know the feeling. It'll pass soon enough,"

"No, it's not like that. I've had those kinds of feelings before, but this is different. Something terrible is going to happen, Quill, I can sense it," she stood from her chair and paced around the room. Quill didn't quite know what say, kirff he didn't even know if he could say anything. Her pacing became faster, and she was mumbling to herself: the one tell-tale sign that she was nervous. Quill and Elara had been together since the very start of the war, both of them forming a strong friendship that had grown into something more as the war raged on. 

Quill set his helmet on the desk cluttered with various datapads and whatever tech project she had neglected. Elara's hands roamed from her forehead to her hair; pulling at the strands.

"'Lara, breathe," He stepped in front of her and pulled her hands away from her head and held them in his own, "Breathe," she took a shaky breath and leaned into him, pulling her hands from his grasp to wrap around his armored torso. He ran a gloved hand through her hair and wrapped the other around her waist, pulling her close to him. It had been ages since they had held each other in their arms. They rarely had times for moments like this where they could be somewhat intimate. The wink of an eye or small hug every so often was all they got, but it was enough. They knew that whatever was between them was second to the war and their duty to the Republic, but they savored every moment they had alone together. 

They stood in silence for quite some time until Elara pulled back to look at him. She grazed her fingers along his cheek, gazing into his eyes, his arms settling around her hips: drawing idle circles around the small of her back. 

"Your eyes are beautiful," she murmured in awe. 

"Ya, I get that a lot," he grinned and she only rolled her eyes.

One of her hands moved through his hair, massaging his scalp and the other to the back of his neck, pulling him closer to her as she ghosted her lips across his. 

Quill grew tired of waiting and he leaned into her, deepening the kiss. Her lips were warm and she tasted as if she had come from a swim in the ocean. She pulled back: breaking the kiss but stayed close, resting her forehead on his own, eyes still closed. 

"I'm scared, Quill," he had never in his short time with her, heard her admit to being scared. Sure she may have looked as if she was, but she never downright admitted it. It scared him a little too to know that the bravest, most courageous person he ever met was afraid. Of what, he didn't know. He assumed she didn't either, but at that point, they both knew something was coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for checking out my story!


	2. Voices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's about that time where that order is given.

Elara tossed and turned in her bed, not able to lose the nightmare. 

She awoke with a gasp, sitting straight up and breathing hard.

"Elara," the muffled voice filled her quarters, its echos bouncing off the walls, "Elara," 

"M-Master?" She questioned the voice she knew all too well. Unfortunately, her master had passed years ago, before the Clone Wars. She had lived for hundreds of years before Elara was born. She had witnessed the ceremony at which Elara was knighted. She had taught Elara everything she knew: the good and the bad. She had taught Elara how to see the galaxy for how it truly was. How to see the Republic as it truly was: deeply flawed. And now her master appeared before her, encased in a dull, blue glow.

"Elara, my child,"

"Master?! How is this possible? How are you here?" Elara swung her legs off the side of her bed and faced her master.

"I do not have time to explain, my dear. Something is coming. I know you can sense it too,"

"Yes, but what is it, Master? What's coming?"

"I do not know, but I predict the worst. You must trust no one. No one. Do you understand?"

"Master-"

"Do you understand?!" Both Elara and her master paused.

"Yes, Master," 

"Dark times are ahead, my child," she began to fade.

"Master!"

"Dark times are ahead," 

\-------------------------------------------------------

Elara shot up in bed, her head turning to where her master once stood.  _ A dream _ , she thought, i _ t was just a dream _ . But Elara knew her master visiting her was no such thing. She had come back to warn her of whatever darkness lay ahead. She wasn't sure she believed what her master had told her, but she knew better than to question it.

Elara stood and rubbed her eyes, moving to the door. There had been no word yet from the Council, so they remained just above the planet's atmosphere, awaiting orders.

Elara walked through the hallways of  _ The Wayfinder _ on her way to the mess hall. Most of her men were getting the little rest that they could, but some were out wandering the halls as she was. She entered the mess hall and made her way to the kitchen to find a late-night snack. She grabbed a few ration bars from a cabinet, filled up a cup with water, and leaned against the counter, looking out the window at the millions of stars.

"I see you had the same idea as I did," Quill entered the kitchen and the door shut quietly behind him. 

"I guess so," she smiled and continued to gaze out the window.

"I used to try and count them when I was still on Kamino," Quill paused and followed her stare into that vast entity of space, "Of course my batchmates made fun of me," he let out a light laugh as did she. 

Then she began to hear the voices. Voices of Master Windu and the glorified Anakin Skywalker whom she had only met once. Her smile faded and she stumbled across the kitchen, one hand bracing herself on the counter and the other rushing to her forehead. The pain flooded her mind, forcing her eyes shut and a small groan to slip out of her gritted teeth. She could feel Quill's fear emitting from his force presence but couldn't hear a word he was saying to her. Finally, the pain subsided and she cracked her eyes open to see Quill watching a hologram of a hooded figure and her eyes widened as it spoke,

"Execute Order 66,"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	3. Lifeless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elara manages to escape her ship, The Wayfinder, but with a burdening cost.

"Quill?" she looked at him as he shut off the hologram and put it back on his belt.

The eyes that stared her down were not the ones she had seen just moments ago.

"Good soldiers follow orders," he murmured as he reached for his blaster, "Good soldiers follow orders," 

Without thinking, Elara threw out her hand to take his blasters from their holsters, then lifted him off the ground and pinned him to the wall. 

"Quill, what are you doing?! It's me! You know me!" she pleaded.

"Good soldiers follow orders," he struggled against the invisible hands that kept him in the air. 

"I'm sorry," she waved her hand over his eyes, and he fell into unconsciousness. She let him fall to the floor and slump against the wall as she made for the door. 

_ What is happening,  _ Elara ran through the empty mess hall and paused before she opened the door to the hallway.

"Find the Jedi. We are under strict orders to eliminate her, as she is a traitor to the Republic. You five; go check the lower levels and secure the hangar. I'll find the commander," her clone captain ordered. 

Elara quickly realized the captain was going to enter the mess hall and she searched for a hiding place. 

When the captain entered the room, he turned in either direction to survey the room. He could have sworn he saw movement, but he pushed the thought out of his head. 

Elara held her breath and watched the clone captain below her. Once he had disappeared into the kitchen, she dropped down from in between the rafters and snuck quietly out of the room. 

_ The lights _ , she thought,  _ I need to get the lights off _ . She made her way to the control room, passing dozens of clone squads as she went: all set on finding and killing her. 

She took a deep breath and opened the door. Clones raised their blasters, but she was quicker: waving her hand in front of them as she did with Quill, causing them to drop to the ground, unconscious.

"Lights, lights, come on," she surveyed the multiple control panels in front of her until she found the right switch. With a few presses of buttons and turns of dials, the lights  _ and  _ emergency lights had been disabled, causing the ship to turn cold and dark. Elara ignited one of her blue lightsabers and destroyed the pannels: making sure there was no way they could turn the lights back on. She couldn't see in the dark any better than they could, but she could sense them. Jedi didn't need eyes to know their surroundings: giving her the slightest of advantages. 

"She's turned off the lights!" A commlink of an unconscious clone beeped, "Squads 3 and 4 head to the main control room!"

_ I need to get out of here  _ **_ now _ ** . She removed the commlink from the clones' wrist and left the room. She could hear the heavy footsteps of clones around the corner and she knew it was time to go. 

She crept through the ship, hiding behind walls as they shined flashed lights down every hallway until she had made it to the escape pods. She hadn't heard if they had gotten rid of them or not but she was surprised that they were still there. If she were in their position, her first move would've been to get rid of all the escape pods  _ and  _ the shuttles. 

As her hand hovered over the control panel; she felt that she had company. Quill.

Elara deflected the blaster bolt aimed at her back and turned to knock the blaster from his hands. The blaster slid across the floor as she used the Force to keep Quill from moving. 

"This isn't you! You know who I am, Quill, don't do this!" He struggled against her.

"TRAITOR," he yelled at her. Elara calmed her thoughts and reached deep into the Force, latching on to his mind.

"Fight it, Quill," she searched in his head; looking for the part of him she knew was still there, " _ Fight it! _ " She squeezed her eyes closed in concentration.

"'Lara," the Quill she knew whispered under his breath. Elara snapped her eyes open to look at him before he was overcome by the order. He shook his head as if there was a bug circling him, "The Jedi are  _ traitors _ ," he gritted his teeth. Elara pushed harder into his mind, forcing him to remember her. 

All of a sudden, he stopped struggling against her. 

"'Lara, please.  _ Please  _ don't let me do this. Don't let me go through with it. Kill me, 'Lara,  _ please _ ," tears streamed down his face, "I'm begging you," he whispered, "please, 'Lara," 

The look in his eyes was pure terror, and Elara whimpered at that. Her Commander, her most trusted friend, and companion, being forced to do things he wouldn't  _ dream _ of doing. It broke her heart to see him like this. It broke her heart to hear what he wanted her to do.

"Forgive me," Elara choked out before she clasped her hand shut and he sank to the floor: dead. 

She couldn't stop the sob that escaped her mouth as she too fell to the floor, not believing what she had done. She couldn't mourn just yet, for a blaster bolt whizzed past her head from the nearing clone squad. She picked Quill up by his arms and dragged him towards the escape pod, dodging incoming fire. Pressing the panel quickly, she backed into the pod, closing the door with a wave of her hand. 

She moved swiftly to the pilot seat and ejected the pod into space, instantly being caught by the planet's gravitational pull. The clones on  _ The Wayfinder _ would be scrambling to get to the guns and blast her into pieces. Knowing this, she pulled the small detonator she had stolen from the control room from her belt and hovered her thumb over it.

A moment passed after she hit the button before  _ The Wayfinder _ exploded into an array of colors, pushing her closer to the planet's surface. She could hear the screams of her men, her  _ brothers _ , inside her head as she turned around in her seat to see Quill lying lifeless on the ground. She dropped to the ground and cradled his head in her lap. The screams that filled both Elara's head and the escape pod didn't stop until they hit the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!


	4. Burying The Dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elara finds herself stuck, with no way into the Outer Rim, but she finds someone wiling to help her.

Elara wrapped Quill's arm around her shoulder and pulled him from the crash. She could still see the ruins of The Wayfinder floating about in the atmosphere. The escape pod had crashed in a dense forest filled with small trees and shrubs. The wind howled, rustling the branches. The Force was strong here; she could feel that its roots had a deep hold. 

Elara walked a while, letting the Force guide her until she came across an open field of grass with another forest on the opposing side. She trudged towards the center, already heavy with fatigue, and laid Quill down beside her as she began to dig. She clawed at the ground, her nails caked with dirt until she couldn't muster the energy to dig any deeper. She stood from the hole she had dug, pushing the hair hanging over her face behind her ears. She climbed out and crawled to where she had placed Quill. Laying a hand over his chest, she scooped him up bridal-style and placed him in the ground. 

Elara folded his hands across his abdomen and brushed the dirt from his cheeks. She leaned over and kissed him over both eyelids.

"I wish we had more time," she looked at him, some sliver of her hoping he would open his eyes, but she knew he would never look at her again. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. The air became cold as the sun dipped over the horizon. 

Burying him was perhaps the hardest thing she had done in her life. Once she had finished, she pressed her forehead into the fresh dirt and muttered her final words to him, allowing the Force to flood both her and the life around her, "Let your death bring life," her tears soaked the ground, "I love you forever and always," 

She stood carefully and faced the rapidly receding sun, taking deep breaths. Elara walked into the distance and didn't stop to look back once.

\-------------------------------------

She walked miles into the night until she stumbled upon a small village. Elara had tried to ditch as much of her Jedi robes as she could, stripping down to a black shirt and light gray pants, along with her utility belt. She kept one lightsaber stuffed in either boot, making it quite uncomfortable to walk, but she'd manage. She received lots of curious looks from the natives as she limped her way around the town, looking for someone or something that could ger her off-world. 

Giving in to her hunger, Elara made her way into the small cantina in the center of the village, sitting down at the bar. 

"You look like you just crawled out of a grave," the bartender laughed. She glared at him, "I mean no harm," he put his hands up in defense, "What can I getcha?"

"Water and whatever kind of stew you got back there," she pointed at the giant, steaming pot behind him. He nodded and filled a glass to the brim, then pulled out a bowl and moved to the pot of stew.

"So what brings someone like you to this backwater planet?" He set down the bowl of what she hoped was soup in front of her.

"Just visiting," she grabbed the bowl quickly and downed the soup in one go, licking her lips.

"Well, you're hungry," he grabbed the bowl to fill it with a second helping.

"Anyone here have a ship that could take me off-world?" she whispered as he set down the second bowl of soup.

"That there is the only person who's got a ship," he pointed to the back of the cantina where a woman sat sipping her drink in a booth. Elara finished the second bowl, throwing a few credits on the counter, and took the glass of water as she walked over to the woman's table. 

"I heard you can get me off-world," Elara slipped into the seat across from her and sipped her water. 

"Oh, ya? In a hurry, are we?" The woman smirked.

"Not really," Elara set her glass down, trying to play it calm, "My ship crashed a few miles away, and it's beyond repair. I only need a way off this planet,"

"Where to?" The woman narrowed her eyes.

"Anywhere in the Outer Rim is fine," 

"You running from something?" 

"Isn't everyone?" 

"Fair point,"

"So, can you take me?" 

"As long as you don't cause any trouble. If you do, you're as good as dead," the woman pulled a blaster from her belt, pointing it square at Elara's forehead.

"Deal," the woman seemed surprised that Elara had no response to a blaster aimed at her face.

"I have a delivery to make in the Outer Rim anyway. We leave at dawn, right outside town," she put her blaster back in its holster, "The names Vaz by the way," she reached out her hand to Elara.

"Laura," Elara shook Vaz's hand, cringing at the stupid name she had come up with. Vaz finished her drink and left the glass on the table, then slid out of the booth. She flipped a credit to the bartender on her way out. Elara sipped her water every so often and remained in the booth until most others had left.

"You look pretty tired. There's a small room in the back. Get some rest," the bartender pointed towards a small door behind the bar, and she stood slowly, bringing her glass to the counter.

"Thank you," she told him groggily.

"Don't mention it," he shrugged.

"I mean it. Not everyone in the galaxy is even the littlest bit kind," she relished in her memories of faraway worlds that seemed like ages ago. 

Elara made her way to the back room and found a small blanket on the floor and laid down. She had always had vivid dreams or visions when she slept. Many of them gave her sight into future battles or missions. But tonight was different. Tonight she dreamt of nothing.

\-------------------------------

"Hey, your friend is lookin' for you," Elara's eyes opened slowly to the bartender standing in the doorway, "Says you're supposed to be leaving soon,"

"Ya. Thanks for... this," she gestured to the small room. 

"No problem," he walked out towards the main room, Elara following. 

Vaz was leaning against the bar, downing the last of her drink.

"Let's get a move on. See ya later Zee," Vaz nodded at the bartender.

Vaz and Elara walked past the outskirts of town and into a small valley, the sun barely peeking above the hills. 

"So, where are you from?" Vaz tried to fill the silence.

"Inner Rim,"

"Not much of a talker, eh? I don't blame you. The people who come through here are uh... strange," Elara looked at her, "Not in a bad way, they're just different ya know? Seen too many things. Just trying to get by,"

_ Seen too many things, indeed _ , Elara almost laughed. Soon enough, they came by a hidden entrance to a cave. Vaz ducked under the loose vines that hung from the top of the opening. Elara gazed up at the small, beaten-up ship.

"You call this a ship?" Elara huffed.

"She's rusty, but she gets the job done," Vaz patted the side of the ship, "Won her off a bet with some smuggler. Got real pissy when I beat him, but he paid his end of the bargain. It'll take me a few minutes to get her ready, feel free to come aboard,"

Elara walked up the short ramp and made her way to the cockpit and waited until Vaz was finished her preparations and sat down in the pilot's seat. The ship creaked and groaned as it lifted off the ground and out of the cave.

"Navi computer is set. It'll only take us a few minutes to get there,"

"Sounds good,"

The flight through hyperspace was relatively quiet; Vaz tinkering with some sort of modified blaster and Elara just rethinking the past few days. Everything that had happened to her hadn't really settled in yet. It all felt like some dream. 

They dropped out of hyperspace in front of a planet similar to the one they had come from. Beautiful, blue oceans and lush green forests covered the planet's surface. Elara walked down the ramp after Vaz landed the ship in a small spaceport.

"Thanks for the ride," 

"Where'd you get the lightsabers?" Elara stopped in her tracks.

"What?"

"The two lightsabers in either of your boots," Vaz nodded staring at Elara's feet.

"How did you know?"

"As I said, the people who come through here are strange. They're always hiding something interesting,"

"I stole them,"

Vaz smirked, rolling her eyes, "That's what they all say."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	5. Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elara comes across a force-sensitive child just as the Empire arrives on the planet.

Elara decided it was best to lay low for a while. Perhaps forever. If her own men turned against her, there must be many other things willing to kill her too. She knew going back to Coruscant wasn't a good idea, for she could feel that the Republic and Jedi Order had fallen. Whispers started to fill the town of something new: an Empire. She had been living on the planet for almost five months now, and things hadn't gotten any easier. She kept her distance from the locals, save for when she sold her kills at the market. The forests here were filled to the brim with wildlife she had never seen, none of them really being hunted before. The credits she earned from selling most of her meat and skins made her enough money to buy a small ship. She took a play out of Vaz's book and hid it deep inside a cave on the outskirts of the spaceport. She didn't know if she would ever need a quick escape, but it was better to be safe than sorry. 

She hoped this new Empire wouldn't stretch its hands this far into the Outer Rim, but she knew it was most certainly a possibility. Some of the pilots that stopped by every so often brought news of the Empire slowly creeping closer and closer, forcing more and more systems into its grasp. If they kept going at this rate, she would never be able to escape them no matter how much she ran. They would only keep coming. 

She had tried to reach out through the Force to other Jedi, but her vision was blurry. Clouded by the dark side. Everything from the Force to the sky and even to her thoughts seemed clouded these days. Her sense of right and wrong was fading. The lines became ever so blurred. 

\----------------------------------------------

Elara hiked down the hills from the forest, carrying a large pack filled with freshly caught meat; the skins of her kill, draped across her shoulders, the sun to her back. In front of her lay the open field of pale green grass, ripe with life. 

As she neared the town, the silhouettes of children came into view. The five of them giggled while they chased each other around in circles. A girl no older than ten sat away from them, fiddling with flowers. The girl held a small yellow petal in her palm and seemed to concentrate on it. Elara's eyes widened as she watched the girl levitate it a few inches above her hand. Acting swiftly, Elara waved her hand, pushing the petal from the girl's grasp and into the wind. The girl had no idea what she was. Knowing what the Empire had done to the Jedi, there was no doubt that what they would do to her would be any better.

The other children slowly made their way back to town, leaving the girl behind. Elara walked up to her and kneeled beside her.

"What's your name, little girl," she smiled softly.

The girl looked up to her and hesitated before speaking, "Kacey. What's yours?"

"Laura. It's getting late; we should head back," 

"Ok," Kacey picked up her collection of flowers and followed Elara, "You're the off-worlder that came in a few months ago, right?"

"Yes, that's me,"

"Why'd you come here?"

"I wanted to move to a nice, out-of-the-way place," part of that was indeed true, but she couldn't say that she had wanted to move here.

"Well, I've grown up here my entire life," the conversation fell silent for a while.

"Kacey, what were you doing with the flower petal, earlier?" Elara needed to know if the girl had any idea what she had done.

"You saw that?" Elara nodded, "Well, I was only looking at it, and then it started floating. I'm not sure what happened," that confirmed Elara's prediction. Kacey knew nothing of the Force. At least nothing about the manipulation of it. 

Overhead, the distant sound of an engine entered the atmosphere: the Empire had arrived. 

"Kacey, let's go," she grabbed the girl's hand. Something deep inside Elara had awakened. She couldn't let this girl fall into the hands of the Empire, "I need you to take me to your parents,"

"It's only my mother and me here. Why do you need to see her?"

"I must speak with her," the girl nodded, and they ran into town.

\------------------------------------

"This way," Kacey pulled her through the streets. The townspeople poked their heads out of their windows: watching the Empire's arsenal of ships land. Kacey led her to her doorstep, her mother standing outside. 

"Kacey! Thank goodness you're back," the girl hugged her mother.

"Mama, this is Laura," Kacey turned to face Elara.

"You're the off-worlder, aren't you?"

"Yes. I need to speak with you inside, please,"

"And why is that?" The mother glared at her.

"It's about your daughter," Elara tried to keep her voice down, "She's done," Elara's voice trailed off, "Strange things," the woman's eyes widened, and she nodded, "I can help her," the woman considered her offer for a moment, then motioned for her to come inside.

"What do you know?" It wasn't hard to tell the woman was nervous.

"I know that she is force-sensitive. Have you ever heard of the Jedi?" Elara hadn't spoken that word in what felt like forever.

"I have heard tales, yes. But they are all dead now," the woman was right, for the most part. 

"She displays traits that Jedi younglings do. She can move things without touching them. Senses things before they happen," Elara looked to Kacey, standing close to her mother. 

"Yes,"

"The Empire will come for her. They will do unspeakable things to her," the mother was trembling now, holding her daughter close to her, "But I can help her. I can hide her from the Empire, but we must leave the planet before they have a firm grip on it,"

"You want to take her from me?!" 

"I'm leaving this planet, and if I don't take her with me, the Empire will. They will turn her into a monster. Let me protect her. Please," 

"Mama, I don't want to be a monster," Kacey looked up at her mother. 

"It's her only hope," Elara pleaded. The mother looked between her and Kacey, her eyes watering. She then crouched down to Kacey's eye level.

"Go with this woman, my love,"

"I don't want to leave you, Mama,"

"I know, I don't want you to either, but I want to keep you safe,"

"Mama..." 

"I know, my love, I know," they shared a quick embrace before Elara spoke.

"It's time to go,"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	6. On The Run

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elara and Kacey have a run-in with the Empire

"I love you, Kacey," her mother told her.

"I love you too, Mama," Kacey looked at her mother one last time as Elara pulled her hand towards the door.

"Thank you for trusting me," Elara told the mother. 

"Just keep her safe,"

"I will," and then they were out the door, Elara dropping the animal skins and her bag full of meat. They walked swiftly towards the edge of town, stormtroopers already flooding the streets. 

Once they reached the outskirts, Elara let out a breath.

"Where do you think you're going?" A stormtrooper aimed his blaster at Elara's back. Kacey gripped Elara's hand tighter. The two turned around to face him.

"My daughter and I were just going out to pick some flowers," Elara smiled, internally cursing herself for her terrible lying.

"You're lying. Get back to your home now," he motioned to the town with his blaster. Elara knew that the longer they waited, the smaller chance they had to get off this damned planet. They didn't have time to mess around with this soldier. Elara started backing away from him, pulling Kacey with her, "Stop moving!" He raised his blaster, "Stop moving, or I'll shoot!" Elara could sense the fear pouring from him and didn't think he could pull the trigger, but soon enough, a blaster bolt aimed right at Kacey flew towards them. Not knowing what else to do, Elara outstretched her hand and deflected the blaster bolt to the side, then Force-pushed the stormtrooper as far back as she could. She grabbed a stunned Kacey and broke into a run across the field of grass. 

Oh, she'd done it now. She exposed herself to the Empire, and they would be oh so happy to track her down and eliminate her. Behind, she heard the faint comm of the trooper calling in for backup. 

Elara and Kacey raced across the field, darkness creeping past the hills. Elara led them to the cave where she hid her ship. 

"Come on, Kacey," she nudged the girl, and they slipped into the cave opening. Elara ran to the pilot seat, throwing her blaster on the floor, quickly getting the ship up and running. 

"Why are they chasing us, Laura? What's happening?" Kacey leaned against the wall.

"I'll answer all your questions once we get the hell out of here," Elara frantically got the engine running, cursing the slowness of the ship. The ship shuddered and eventually lurched forward, almost out of the cave. 

"There she is, get her!" Stormtroopers started to surround the entrance to the cave, their blaster bolts doing no real damage to the hull of the ship. 

"Damn, I wished this thing had blasters," Elara grumbled. She pushed the controls forward, turning the engines to full power, "Come on, come on," 

Soon enough, they were rising into the atmosphere, the Navi computer already calculating their jump to hyperspace. Elara set a course for a distant, uninhabited planet, hoping it would help conceal the two force-sensitives. As they left the atmosphere, an imperial-class cruiser loomed over the small ship. 

"Navi computer is almost ready," she told Kacey, "We're almost out of here," Elara anxiously waited for the computer to finish its calculations and watched the nearby cruiser, hoping they wouldn't start shooting. 

A small beep came from the control panel, and the jump to hyperspace was ready. Elara pushed a lever forward, and the familiar blur of space began to surround them. Elara fell back into the pilot's chair, the tension in her body finally being somewhat released. She rubbed her temple and turned to Kacey. 

"I'm so sorry," she knew the grief that came from being taken from your family: both her biological family and the one she had made with the clones.

"What-what's going on? I don't understand, Laura. Why were they shooting at us?" Kacey fumbled with her fingers.

"First of all, my name isn't Laura. It's Elara,"

"Why'd you hide your real name from us?"

"Because of who I really am,"

"What are you?"

"Do you know what the Force is, Kacey?" Elara motioned for her to sit down in the copilot chair. 

"No," 

"The Force is the energy that connects everything in the galaxy. It binds us. It flows through us. It's what you used to lift the flower petal,"

"What does the Empire want with it?"

"Kacey," Elara hesitated, "I can use the Force as you do. I was once a Jedi Knight in the Republic,"

"But Mama said all the Jedi died,"

"Not all of them. I escaped, and I believe others did as well. The Empire wants to hunt us down and kill us,"

"What do they want with me?" 

"I have felt new presences in the Force. I believe the Empire has created more Sith: dark Jedi. They take Force-sensitive children, like you, and they use their hate and anger to turn them into weapons. I don't want that to happen to you, Kacey,"

The two sat in silence, the whirr of the engine filling the space. Elara felt numb, the realization of it all hitting her at once: the clones turning on her, Quill's death, the Empire on their tail. She reached out into the Force, looking for something; anything; that could tell her that there were other Jedi alive. But she felt nothing; only the cold, barren void of space. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	7. Not Hidden For Long

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elara teaches Kacey a little bit about the Force, while the Empire wastes no time in tracking them down.

The ship dropped out of hyperspace, the engines creaking as they pushed closer towards a densely wrapped, uninhabited, jungle-covered planet. Elara steered the ship into a small clearing, taking a sigh of relief as she took her hands off the controls. 

"Elara, what are we going to do?" Kacey turned to her.

"I'm not sure. But no matter where we go, we won't be safe," Elara sighed, "We'll make camp here, for now, but we should be ready to leave immediately if the Empire finds us," Kacey nodded and followed Elara off of the ship. She surveyed their surroundings: tall, luscious, jungle trees, a few small hills, and a pond. She hoped there would be caves around, both to hide themselves and the ship. She gazed up at the two suns that circled the planet, believing there was hope for them yet. 

\------------------------------

Elara was lucky enough to have found a secluded cave alongside one of the hills. Unfortunately, she hadn't been able to find one for the ship. She resorted to parking it as close to the treeline as possible and covering it with sticks and vines.

Kacey sat beside her, curious about what she was doing. Elara sat on the cold stone floor, cross-legged, her palms facing up on her knees, eyes shut peacefully. It had been months since she had meditated, her connection to the Force being somewhat strangled. However, she needed guidance on what to do next, the wiseness formed from years of war, not fitting the situation at hand. She pushed past the fog encompassing her senses, reaching for the crystalline, pristine feeling of the Force in its pure state. 

"What are you doing?" Kacey cocked her head and watched as Elara cracked her eyes open to look at her. 

"Meditating," 

"What does it do?" 

"It helps strengthen my connection to the Force," Kacey mimicked her cross-legged position.

"How do you do it?" Elara hesitated a minute before responding.

"Well, start by relaxing your mind," Elara adjusted her sitting position, then continued, "Close your eyes and quiet your mind," the two sat in silence for a while until Elara spoke again, "Feel the Force inside you; surrounding you. Feel it coursing through your blood and filling every breathe you take. It is everywhere, Kacey," 

\---------------------------------

"Focus your mind, do not lead it astray," Elara watched as the girl tried to lift the small stone in her palm.

"I can't," she dropped the pebble onto the ground and bowed her head.

"The reason you could not lift it is that you told yourself you could not. If you tell yourself that you will fail, you always will," Elara closed her eyes and raised her hands, causing all of the small rocks and twigs in the cave to rise into the air. Kacey looked around the room in awe, her gaze coming to lie on Elara.

"I want to learn how to do that!" Kacey grinned up at Elara.

"Perhaps someday you shall, but first you must start small," Elara picked up the rock and set it in the girl's hand, "Lift it," Kacey

\---------------------------------

**POV-** **Third Sister and Ninth Brother (Imperial Inquisitors)**

"There are reports of a rogue Jedi, brother. They say she fled with a young girl; perhaps a force-sensitive," the Third Sister paced beside the holo table. 

"Do we know where she's gone?" 

"No, but she was last spotted leaving this planet," she pressed a button on the holo table causing a small planet to pop up, "Imperial forces arrived there a few days ago, and she escaped before they could get a hold of the villages. I believe she has traveled to one of the nearby, uninhabited systems," a half dozen star systems replaced the singular planet.

"We should begin searching, sister," the Ninth Brother called his double-bladed lightsaber from the desk into his hand.

The Third Sister's face spread into a foul smile, "Indeed, brother. It's been a long time since I've had the pleasure of killing a Jedi,"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	8. The Inquisitors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Third Sister confronts Elara

"Did you fight in the Clone Wars?" Kacey asked her as they walked through the forest.

Elara sighed, "Yes, I did," 

"What was it like?"

"It was... neverending. Day after day of war was burdening, to say the least,"

"What were the clones like?"

"They were brothers to me. One of them was even more," she relished in the memories of being held in Quill's arms, his soft lips pressing a kiss to her forehead, "They were the bravest men I ever knew. And the most loyal. Too loyal. In the end, their power to choose was ripped away, all the trust and respect earned throughout the years just vanished into thin air. Like it meant nothing to them," Elara grimaced at the words that came out of her mouth.

"I'm sorry," Kacey said, not knowing what to say.

"It's all in the past now. What's done it done," Elara moved her gaze to the trees dangling overhead, swaying lightly in the wind. They continued walking into the distance, Kacey asking Elara about the Force and the Jedi; long since forgotten. High above them, the songs of birds rang out in the sky as their wings carried them through the wind. That was the kind of freedom she longed for during the years of the Republic. The shackles of the Jedi Order had fallen from her wrists, but she still felt chained to something. Perhaps it was the girl. Or maybe she was truly free, but alas, even the birds were chained to the sky. Everything was bound to something, whether it wanted to be or not. 

Suddenly the presence of serenity and calm was stripped away and replaced with that of bitter darkness. The Empire had found them. The familiar drone of a starship entered the air above them; inside prowled a life form drowned in the dark side. 

"Kacey, get back to the cave," Elara turned to her, eyes wide, " _Now_ ," she watched as Kacey backed up slowly then spun around, running into the forest. 

The ship landed in the small clearing in front of her, a slim figure visible behind the tinted glass of the viewport. Elara called the two lightsabers from inside her jacket to her hands and ignited the blue blades. The hatch above the ship opened with a pop and figure, clad in black, rose from the opening.

"You must be the Jedi," the Third Sister cocked her head, "I expected more of a challenge," she shrugged and leaped off of the ship, landing gracefully in front of Elara. The two circled each other, both at the ready should one jump into action.

"What do you want?" Elara twirled a saber in her hand.

The Third Sister laughed, "You know, _exactly_ what I want,"

Elara smirked, "I'm guessing it's something like my head hanging on your wall?"

"Oh, I'll kill you, but I want to see you suffer first. I'll start with that girl you took. The screams she'll make when I kill her will be music to my ears,"

Elara was finished listening to the monster speak and lunged, her right blade aiming at the inquisitor's shoulder. The Third Sister stepped back, dodging her attack. Using the momentum she had gained, Elara spun herself around, striking with her left blade. This time, instead of being met with air, her blade clashed with the blood-red one of the inquisitor. She swung her right arm around and shoved the right blade beside the other, putting as much pressure down on the inquisitor as possible. 

The Third Sister gritted her teeth, finding the strength to push her back and did so forcefully. Elara slid back a few feet and found the inquisitor's blade mere inches from her face. She raised a saber, countering the multiple attacks the inquisitor put forth, then swept her left blade at the inquisitor's feet. The Third Sister jumped, then quickly landed, but didn't have enough time to dodge Elara's foot to her face. The inquisitor let out a yelp and stumbled back, still in shock.

Elara then lunged swiftly, not letting her get a second of recovery, and swung up from below her shoulder, cleanly slicing the Third Sister's arm off. The singed flesh let out a thump as it hit the ground, her lightsaber falling out of the lifeless fingers. The inquisitor clutched her sizzling wound as Elara pointed a lightsaber directly at her throat.

"Jedi are so unaware of the world around them. Perhaps that's why they all _died_ ," the Third Sister let out a blood-curdling laugh, baring her teeth. Elara moved her saber closer to the inquisitor's throat, "This was our entire plan! Lure you out, separate you from the girl, well you know the rest," she sneered. 

"What do you mean _our_?" 

"Did you think I came _alone_? My brother is on his way to your puny little cave as we speak," 

_No,_ Elara's eyes widened, "Kacey," she extinguished her blades and ran as fast as she could to the cave, the inquisitor laughing violently behind her.

"You'll never get there in time, Jedi! That girl is long dead, and you will be soon to join her,"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	9. An Old Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elara witnesses the fate of Kacey and comes across a familiar face, she's not sure she trusts.
> 
> To the few people who read this, sorry I haven't posted a chapter in a while, I had a bit of a writing block with this :/

Elara was breathing hard: stretching her Jedi powers as far as she could to make herself faster. Every second she wasted was another second the inquisitor had to kill Kacey. As she neared the opening of the cave, she could hear the wicked laugh of the inquisitor, his voice bouncing off the walls. 

She ran to the mouth of the cave, but Force, it was too late. The sight of the inquisitor impaling Kacey along the blade of his lightsaber would be forever burned into her mind. He had purposefully turned Kacey to face the cave mouth where Elara was standing to show off the agony on her face as he stabbed her. 

"KACEY!!!" Elara screamed, the Force filling every inch of her body and raging through the cave, slamming both Kacey and the inquisitor back against the wall. She held the inquisitor up in a Force-choke, his lightsaber dropping to the ground beside Kacey's smoldering body.

The Ninth Brother laughed, "You like it, don't you?" Elara only pressed down on his neck harder, a new feeling sweeping over her. A raw power, unkept and barbaric, writhed underneath her skin, fueling her anger and lust to kill. Stones and sticks around her began to lift off the ground, and she could feel a strong wind blowing around her, "The feeling of power coursing through your veins? It feels good, doesn't it? The dark side," he struggled against her hold, trying to bring his lightsaber into his hand, but she held fast, "There's nothing you can do. She's dea-" at that, Elara called a lightsaber to her hand, and struck a fatal blow across his chest, the bottom half of his body dropping to the ground. She let the top half follow, the smell of singed flesh filling the air. 

Elara's legs wobbled, and she fell to her knees, the dark side flushing out of her as if she had been possessed. She gazed at the two fallen bodies; one her friend and the other her foe. _It should have been me_ , she thought, _I should be the one dead, not her_ , for she was supposed to have died along time ago with the Jedi Order and her fellow Knights. All she had done since was bring havoc to the worlds she crossed and death to those who lived there. And now it was time to bury another body.

\-----------------------------------------

It was long after she plugged coordinates into the Navi computer, that Elara realized the darkness she had tapped into; how her emotions had flooded her mind, prying hands ripping her control away. She couldn't become like the inquisitors, the dark side fuming their rage and passion for blood. But then again, what did she have to fight for? The only things that truly mattered to her had been torn from her hands, then buried six feet under the ground. She was no Jedi. The Jedi were supposed to be protectors and peacekeepers, but she let a child die at the hands of a man who laughed when he killed her. She was no protector, no savior, merely a rogue trying to live up to what she used to be. It was time for her to move on. It was time for someone new to be born; it was time to rely on something other than the Force.

\--------------------------------------------------------

Hours passed as she slipped in and out of a light slumber, the blue expanse of hyperspace somewhat visible through her eyelids. Elara snapped awake at the sudden lurch of the ship as it dropped out of hyperspace and came to a slow cruise over the nearby planet. Vast deserts encompassed the surface, a few spots of green here and there, but for the most part, it was barren land. As she flew closer, a settlement came into view, one that would hopefully provide her enough cover, at least for a little while. 

She kept to herself as she wove through the market, sellers bickering with the locals over prices and quantity. The Empire had a small outpost here, not too much of a hold, but enough to keep her on edge. Right now, though, that wasn't her priority. Her priority was getting something to eat and a drink. She could worry about the Empire later. 

Elara slipped into a nearby cantina and took a seat at the bar, asking for whatever they had to eat and for the cheapest glass of booze on their shelves. She had chosen a stool in which she could watch every person who entered the cantina with a wary eye, examining them for any trouble.

After having a couple of sips of whatever terrible ale they had, she watched a familiar face step into the bar: a clone. Elara snapped her head around before he could make eye contact with her. He wasn't dressed in imperial clothing, but he could be some sort of undercover spy. She finished her drink and the small basket of some fried animal that had been placed in front of her by the bartender and made to leave. _Play it cool, play it cool, he doesn't know who you are. You're just a citizen, nothing else_ , he seemed not to notice her as she slipped out of the cantina and back into the marketplace. After walking a few blocks, she felt the familiar feeling of eyes on her as she weaved her way through the hoards of people: she was being followed. Her conscious told her to forget about, but her instincts told her otherwise. She decided to trust her gut and slip into a nearby alley, scaling the sides of the houses until she comfortably perched herself above the small alcove.

She waited a few minutes until the clone indeed followed her into the alley. Taking a deep breath, Elara drew the knife from her boot and jumped down, immediately pushing him up against the wall a knife to his throat.

" _Shit_ , what the-"

" _Quiet_ ," Elara hushed him, "Who are you, and why are you following me?"

"It's really you," the clone whispered, eyes raking over her face.

"What are you talking about?" She pressed the knife harder against his throat.

"You know me, Elar-"

" _Don't_ ," She moved her other hand to cover his mouth, "Say my name," she turned her head, checking to make sure no one was eavesdropping, "Give me one good reason I shouldn't kill you where you stand," 

"I'm not trying to kill you,"

"Aren't you? That's what you all did at the end of the war," she hissed.

"There's a chip in our brains that allowed us to be... controlled. I found a way to remove it," he raised a hand to pull back his hair and show her the scar, "See?" Elara made no move to let him out of her grasp, "It's me Lynx,"

" _Lynx??_ Wha- _how?_ " Her mind flooded with memories of one of her best medics that had been absent on _The Wayfinder_ when the clones turned.

"I'd love to explain, but it would be nice if you let me go first," 

"Sorry," Elara withdrew her knife, stuffing it back into her boot, "Can't trust anyone anymore. Not after what happened," 

"I know the feeling,"

"Meet me in hangar 24 in an hour. I'd rather _not_ be seen together. We don't need to draw any eyes,"

"Agreed,"

\------------------------------------------------

An hour passed, and Elara nervously waited for Lynx to enter the hanger, wanting to hear both more about the chip and how he managed to escape the grasp of the Empire. She had heard rumors that old clones, still in working condition and loyal to the Empire were being commissioned into stormtroopers. It sickened her to think how easily they turned on her; on the Republic. 

"Nice ship," Lynx said sarcastically, as he climbed the ramp into the cockpit. 

"Very funny," Elara swiveled in the pilot's chair to face him, "We have a lot to catch up on," she patted the seat next to her, still not completely set on trusting him.

"That we do," he sat, running a hand through his hair, "How did you get out? How were you not killed-"

"You first," she said firmly.

"Fine, I guess that's fair," Lynx huffed, adjusting his position on the seat, "After you left for the mission right before... the order, I came across a file on a dead ARC trooper. It contained information about these inhibitor chips placed inside every clone to make them less aggressive. At least that's what the Kaminoans told us. I did some digging but couldn't find _anything_ more about these chips, hell we weren't even told about them in our medical training back on Kamino. I decided to remove mine so I could study it further, and as I was putting the pieces together, it happened. Something snapped in them. It was like they were possessed. And when they were talking about killing the... well you know," 

"What happened after that?" Elara pressed.

"We were readying to head back to Coruscant, and I knew I just couldn't go, but I had to play along for the sake of not being accused as a traitor. I waited until the very last moment, then stole a ship from where we had set up camp and high-tailed my ass to the Outer Rim. I've been planet-hopping ever since," Lynx took a deep breath after reciting the past few months of his life and sunk back into the chair. 

"That's... kriffing crazy, but it explains a lot," Elara sighed.

"Your turn," Lynx have her a nod, "How in the hell did you manage to escape?"

"We were still hovering over the planet's atmosphere, awaiting orders from Coruscant when it happened. When it did, I went to the control room and switched off all the lights, and emergency lights then made my way to an escape pod. Quill met me there,"

Lynx swore under his breath.

"He asked me to kill him," Elara whispered, "So I did. And I blew up the ship from the pod and crashed on the surface. I've been doing the same as you since then; moving around trying not to be found,"

"That's... one hell of a story," Lynx chuckled, "I'm-I'm glad the Commander's is dead instead of with the Empire," he bowed his head, "I wish they were all dead instead of being forced to turn,"

"Me too," she let out a muffled breath. A long and uncomfortable silence passed between them, filling up every crack and crevice of the ship until none was spared.

"What now?" Lynx asked.

"I don't know, but I'm tired of running. It's not like I can escape the Empire anyways,"

"You make a good point," 

"I think it's time to move on; make a new life for ourselves. Try and fit in at least a little bit. That's our best bet at surviving,"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
